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Programs›Football›University of Southern California›Football
Division I · Big Ten Conference

University of Southern California Football

Los Angeles, CA · the Trojans · University of Southern California overview
116
Roster
11 over the D-I cap of 105
$74M
Team budget
97th percentile in Division I
$638,060
Per roster spot
median $79,762
11
Coaches
1 head · 10 assistant
970
APR
97% of players retained
10%
Admitted
top 10% for selectivity

University of Southern California fields a football team in the Big Ten Conference (NCAA Division I). In 2024–25 the roster carried 116 players, about the median of 119, with 1 head coach and 10 assistants. Team expenses were $74,014,972, well above the median of $9.1M — $638,060 per roster spot, top 10% of Division I football programs. Under the Division I roster cap of 105 in force from 2025-26, that is 11 over — cuts or attrition are likely, though players already on the roster may stay (230 of 261 Division I programs carried more than the cap). The team's multi-year Academic Progress Rate is 970, about the median of 964, with 97% of players retained year to year. The school gave $15,118,920 in athletic aid across its men's teams, about $42,468 per roster spot.

Among Division I football programs

Where this program sits against its 261 peers (percentile; the tick is the median).

Team budget$74M
Spend per player$638,060
Roster size116
Coaching staff11
APR970

Team budgets across the division

$1.4M$93M
this programevery Division I football program

Roster sizes (cap 105)

89167
this programevery Division I roster

The program

  • Roster116 2024–25 season
  • Division I roster cap105 11 over last season
  • Coaching staff1 head, 10 assistant
  • Team expenses$74,014,972 for the year
  • Operating expenses$5,767,186 game-day and travel
  • Spend per roster spot$638,060 division median $79,762
  • Academic Progress Rate970 multi-year; 969 latest
  • Players retained97% year to year
  • Eligible96% of player-terms
  • Athletic aid, men's teams$15,118,920 school-wide
  • Aid per roster spot$42,468 across men's teams
  • Recruiting spend, men's$5,926,680 school-wide

Coaching staff

NameTitleEmail
Lincoln Riley head coachHead Coachnot on file
Put University of Southern California on a target list, address the whole staff at once, and send each email yourself from Gmail — nothing goes out without you pressing Send.Start your board

Recruiting timing

  • Coaches may first contact youSeptember 1 of junior year
  • Your own emailsAny time the rule limits what coaches send back
  • High-school football players1,029,588 2024-25
  • Division I roster spots31,184 261 programs
  • Odds of a spot1 in 33 3.0% of high-school players hold a Division I roster spot

General NCAA rule for Division I; the football recruiting guide has the date for each grad year, the eligibility checklist and what to put in a first email.

About the school

What an athlete asks first — each panel opens the full picture.
21,023undergraduates · 47,147 students in all
Women 53% Men 47%
Setting
City
Type
Private · Research university
Affiliation
None
10%admitted · of 80,808 applicants
SAT middle 50%1440 – 1550
ACT middle 50%32 – 35
Test scores
Test-optional
Graduate in 6 yrs
92%
116on the roster · 2024–25 season
Roster vs the D-I cap of 105116
11 over — players already on the roster may stay
Academic Progress Rate970
97% of players kept year to year
Team expenses
$74,014,972 $638,060 per roster spot · top 10% of Division I
Coaches
1 head · 10 assistant
Athletic aid, men's teams
$15,118,920
Recruiting spend, men's
$5,926,680
$41,496net price · after grants, aided first-years
Sticker price$90,453
Average net price$41,496
Net price by family income
$0–30k$15,470
$30–48k$13,692
$48–75k$18,993
$75–110k$29,865
$110k and up$56,347
Tuition & fees
$68,237

Campus safety

Full picture →
1.57violent offences per 1,000 · students a year, 2022–2024
Violent1.57
Property6.60
In residence halls
27 burglaries · 45 sex offences over 2022–2024
Residence-hall fires
36 over 2022–2024
23%of bachelor's degrees in business · 25 fields · Bachelor's, Doctorate, Master's
Business1,346 · 23%
Visual & performing arts681 · 12%
Social sciences549 · 10%
Engineering446 · 8%
Computer & information sciences415 · 7%

Research University of Southern California

School pages built around what an athlete needs to know — the program's money and roster room, admissions fit, what a family really pays, majors, campus life and safety.

Football programs within 150 miles

University of Southern CaliforniaUniversity of California, Los Angeles · 10 miWhittier College · 15 miAzusa Pacific University · 24 miChapman University · 29 miUniversity of La Verne · 30 miPomona-Pitzer Colleges · 33 miClaremont McKenna-Harvey Mudd-Scripps Colleges · 33 miCalifornia Lutheran University · 37 miUniversity of Redlands · 64 miUniversity of San Diego · 107 miSan Diego State University · 111 mi
SchoolMilesRosterBudgetAPRAdmitted
University of California, Los Angeles Division I · Big Ten Conference10121$55M9449%
Whittier College Division III · Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conf.15———85%
Azusa Pacific University Division III · Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conf.24———79%
Chapman University Division III · Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conf.29110$794k—56%
University of La Verne Division III · Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conf.30114$658k—48%
Pomona-Pitzer Colleges Division III · Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conf.3397$652k—7%
Claremont McKenna-Harvey Mudd-Scripps Colleges Division III · Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conf.3383$818k—11%
California Lutheran University Division III · Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conf.37139$599k—89%
University of Redlands Division III · Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conf.64141$756k—81%
University of San Diego Division I · Pioneer Football League10799$2.4M97747%
San Diego State University Division I · Pac-12 Conference111116$22M96934%

Other football programs in the Big Ten Conference

SchoolRosterBudgetPer playerAPRCompare
The Ohio State University 17 over cap122$92M$757,043985vs
Pennsylvania State University 25 over cap130$77M$595,277982vs
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick 32 over cap137$76M$554,182979vs
University of Southern California 11 over cap116$74M$638,060970vs
University of Nebraska-Lincoln 50 over cap155$71M$455,320974vs
University of Washington 9 over cap114$69M$604,576999vs
University of Michigan 34 over cap139$62M$443,620980vs
University of Oregon 21 over cap126$61M$482,916968vs
University of California, Los Angeles 16 over cap121$55M$456,240944vs
University of Iowa 26 over cap131$51M$388,506971vs
Indiana University, Bloomington 9 over cap114$50M$440,417969vs
Michigan State University 14 over cap119$48M$405,275952vs
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 14 over cap119$48M$403,373970vs
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities 12 over cap117$45M$388,484980vs
University of Wisconsin-Madison 17 over cap122$41M$335,274986vs
Northwestern University 4 over cap109$38M$347,722995vs
Purdue University 21 over cap126$37M$295,184954vs
University of Maryland, College Park 15 over cap120$36M$295,855956vs

Every Big Ten Conference football program · Football budgets ranked